Tylenol Recall Brings Back Arthritis Caplets, Memories

Tylenol recalls arthritis caplets

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It looks like we are in the middle of yet another Tylenol Recall, but don’t worry. This time, the reason isn’t that you might give your children an overdose of Tylenol. The voluntary Tylenol recall applies to Tylenol Arthritis Caplets; users have reported “a moldy smell that can cause nausea and sickness,” according to USA Today. So far the side effects have been temporary and not serious, so no one has needed a payday loan for emergency medical bills.

Not every Tylenol arthritis pill is being recalled. The Tylenol recall only calls back Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-Open Cap. The company previously recalled only a few lots of the medicine, but now all lots that fit that description are recalled. According to a Associated Press article on the Tylenol recall:

The health care company said the odor results from trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. That chemical is believed to result from the breakdown of another chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.

Back in the day

Of course, many people can’t hear the words “Tylenol recall” without thinking back to the big one — the Tylenol recall of 1982. Pretty much any “unsolved mysteries” special on TV will tell of the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders. Seven people died from taking Extra Strength Tylenol capsules that had been poisoned.

Back then, Tylenol capsules could be taken apart and put back together. Investigators believe someone opened the caplets and laced them with potassium cyanide, then put them back together. Not only did it cause a massive Tylenol recall, it eventually caused that type of capsule to be outlawed. At the time, it led to new packagind and federal anti-tampering laws. To this day, the culprit has never be identified, and there’s a $100,000 reward still up for grabs for information leading to a conviction.